


Kingdom

by pyrocitor



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-02 06:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10939290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrocitor/pseuds/pyrocitor
Summary: Various shorts on Sara and Suvi, and their visits to the viable golden worlds.Timeline: Game end; after Meridian.





	1. Eos

**HABITAT-1**  
_Designation: **Eos**_  
 

After searching for almost an hour, Suvi was ready to give up the search. SAM assured her that the Pathfinder was in the vicinity of Prodromos, and safe – that she had requested the tracker installed into her Omnitool to be blocked, temporarily. Despite that such an act did nothing to soothe Suvi’s worry. There was something incredibly astonishing about Sara; her strength, her grit… her valour. Her ability to believe in the impossible – not just believe, even – a certain way of inspiring perseverance which saved the Initiate from collapse.

And, in fashion, just as the way Ryder had arrived from the bleak, empty reaches of Heleus (as it was back then), she had lifted Suvi’s heart and mind likewise – drawn the Scot to her unknowingly, and tolerated the redhead’s faithfulness. In the few short days of her arrival, she’d created a loyal, reliable crew that were prepared, even happy, following her to the ass-end of nowhere if there was a slight whiff of potential.

“Looking for me?” Sara’s voice on the comms startled Suvi from her thoughts, almost falling down the steps of one of the many research buildings in Prodromos.

“I may have had the impression from SAM that you wanted to be alone.” Suvi began, almost circling in an attempt to locate where the voice was coming from. After a few seconds, she gave in, sighing; “I gave up. I’ve been searching almost an hour.” There was a chuckle, then an intake of breath at the same moment the Pytheas sun chose to send an excessively bright beam of light into Suvi’s eyes.

It solicited a smile from the scientist. She knew better than a sun deciding to aggravate her, and waited a second for the beam to pass to the right of her, then to the left. Her smile widened as she looked to the distance, finally locating the Pathfinder’s  position.

“I thought you were going to buy some kind of anti-reflection device for your scope.” The mock arrogance in Suvi’s voice apparent, she placed her hands against her hips – staring up at the position Ryder had revealed. It was something they shared; stubbornness.

Sara would utilise hers to found outposts, render worlds viable and save Meridian. Suvi used hers in a less impressive, but no less important way; for study. It was little use making worlds viable if nothing was understood about them; if they could (and would) support the Initiative and the colonisation efforts that were so desperately needed.

With such efforts; most of the radiation that had prevented permanent settlements on Eos had been eradicated. There was still some, however, and it created gripping winds that shook the research hubs and could disturbed what little of the local flora there was. But it was still an improvement, and the Remnant vaults, along with Meridian, promised recovery. It was extraordinary; what had been achieved, not only by the Pathfinder, but by the Nexus as a whole. They’d returned to the planet that failed twice, all on the word of a single woman.

“I was.” Sara’s voice cut in once more. “But where’s the fun in that?”


	2. Elaaden

**HABITAT-2**  
_Designation: **Elaaden**_

 

Even with under the shade, in a lab with functioning air conditioning; the heat was almost unbearable – Suvi was only able to continue working because of the significance of her research, erratically strewn across every available table surface in the room. Normally, she would not tolerate such disorganisation while working in a foreign lab, but the enthusiastic krogan geneticist she was assisting had a rather contrasting idea of lab orderliness. Adding to that; she was not the only biologist who had offered her mind to the New Tuchunka colony, and numerous scientists plus small corner lab equalled chaotic workplace.

She was told that it came with the job description from the geneticist she worked with, and was actually inclined to agree… If she was being paid. Unfortunately, the most the colony could offer at the moment was Elaaden’s piss poor excuse for Ryncol – the original recipe was created while the krogans only had a limited supply of water; it was considered lucky to find a bottle of New Ryncol that had been distilled, even just once – a semi-working fan for the time the air conditioning shorted, and a closest room; which the outpost had to lease to the colony anyway.

None of that mattered to Suvi, though. She had a place to rest her eyes, food to eat and Ryder was scheduled to return to Elaaden for her crewmate in two days during the night: the scientist had never expected to solve the genophage in the short few weeks she was stationed in New Tuchunka, but she was proud and confident in the ground she had helped the geneticists cover, and she’d also convinced herself that returning to the Tempest was the only way to stop Sara from whining about loneliness.

But the next few days passed without incident; no major breakthroughs or holdups, just progress as it had been for the majority of the time she’d been with the team. As she had finished her shift, ready to venture to the outpost for rations, she received word that the Tempest was behind schedule. There had been a cargo mix-up on Kadara, and Suvi used the walk back through New Tuchunka to call Ryder with her omnitool.

A few crackles, then a click.

“Pathfinder Ryder.” The connection was patchy, at best and there was a constant howling noise funnelling through the mic feed which made listening to Ryder speak even more problematic.

Suvi spent a second or two adjusting the frequency of the call, but already felt more at ease just by hearing her partner’s voice. Unable to keep herself from grinning, she lifted her forearm to breast-height by habit. “Sara…”

There was a chuckle, then a grunt.

“It’s me. How are you?” There was another grunt and Suvi paused a second, but continued with apprehension scattered in her voice. “I heard you were delayed.”

“Suvi, sweetie, now is not the time, okay?” Ryder responded with no hesitation; “Kinda dealing with an outlaw infestation at the minute.”

Now it was Suvi’s turn to laugh. “It’s Kadara, it’s made of outlaws.”

There was a rifle shot which seemed to echo across space to Suvi’s ears. Then silence. In that split second, imagining a life without Ryder made everything that had been accomplished in Heleus so far insignificant. In a second; she was lost to dark space, and yet, had never been more certain of anything. Without Sara, her only connection was Ryder-1; she’d dedicate a lifetime a study to unlock its secrets.

Today, however, she was in luck – there was no such need yet.

“After today I would be surprised if there are any left, though.” Ryder snorted, and Suvi heard a turian giggle from close by the comm and assumed it was Vetra. “We’re done here. Assemble at NT at 0500 hours.”

“Try not to be delayed this time.” Suvi spoke, intending it to be light-hearted, but instead humourlessly stating it – letting the silence pass between them awkwardly.

Yet, Ryder still laughed and Suvi knew then that the next seven hours would feel like years. “There’s no way I’m staying in Kadara Port now - try to get some shuteye before we arrive, okay?”

“Fat chance,” Suvi smirked, desperately trying to measure her words enough so that Ryder could hear the sarcasm. She’d waited long enough on this dry, dusty boulder – seven hours was just long enough to find adequate mixers for the Ryncol bottle that sat, gathering said dust on her shelf. “I’ll be waiting, Sara.”


	3. Havarl

**HABITAT-3**  
_Designation: **Havarl**_

With the Archon dead, and the cluster relatively free to explore, Suvi had become increasingly busy over the past few weeks – biologists (specifically those with a specialist field in genetics or molecular function) were in extremely high demand. So much so that Suvi had been pulled from the Tempest by the Nexus Research Division and placed into the rapidly stabilising environment of Havarl. Most of the planet had already healed from the monolith damage, so the teams were concerned with documenting what little groundwork they could recover.

Despite this; Havarl was still dangerous, and its fauna was still somewhat aggressive – while the Resistance had offered small protective fire squads for the science teams, the organisation as a whole were still far more invested in rebuilding Palaav to the Daar it once was. Pathfinder Ryder, maybe took this a little too personally when a team Suvi was in had been ambushed by some particularly aggressive wild adhi – the Angaran escort had been admiring some ancient ruins a little too far from the Nexus team and one of the scientists paid for it with their life.

So, despite what Director Tann had described as 'an unfortunate circumstance', along with forbidding Ryder from a stop in Havarl – the Pathfinder reached the jungle world hotter under the collar than she ever was in Elaaden. Suvi met her halfway across the walkway from the Tempest docking pad to the Palaav Research Station, fully intent to calm Ryder before there was a diplomatic incident.

“Sara…” She began, her hands pressing against the chestpiece of Ryder’s armour, attempting to prevent her from passing by.

Ryder was silent, however, unhelmeted for once in the field and looking down to Suvi with eyes that shone of adoration and anxiety.

“I’m alright,” The scot continued to speak, unable to meet her lover’s gaze. “The soldiers… They’ve already been reprimanded.” That, while she began with a shaky voice, she finished with confidence. She had seen first-hand how they were scolded, and returned to Voeld with their tails between their legs.

Ryder took a breath and it gathered Suvi’s attention – when she could finally catch her girlfriend’s eyes, she spoke; “You could have died.” It was delivered unsteadily, quivering and faltering as she spoke – her eyes shone, only slightly and only for a moment, pricked with tears.

The scientist relaxed a moment; finally understanding. It wasn’t anger that Ryder felt; but fear – the same fear that caused Suvi to lash out at her friends (occasionally) when the Pathfinder found herself in deadly situations, having SAM relay the news rather than voice it outloud.

Suvi pressed a swift kiss to Sara’s lips, pulling her into a tight embrace – grinning when she felt Sara lean almost her entire body weight against her, even if she was almost flattened by it. She sighed into her lover’s shoulder, giving her another kiss to her head, wherever she could reach.

“It’ll take more than that,” She smirked, once again kissing Ryder. “I don’t know if you knew, but I have a badass Pathfinder girlfriend that seems to be relentless on ensuring my survival.” She waited a moment, unable to hear Ryder, if she said again – but felt the rapid rise and fall of her chest and could tell it was her silent attempt at laughter. “Sara…” She released the Pathfinder from the embrace, but placed each of her hands on Ryder’s cheeks, forcing their eyes to meet.

But Ryder spoke before she had a chance too; “I love you, Suvi.”

Suvi smiled, caressing the sniper’s face with her thumbs, “I know.”


	4. Kadara

**HABITAT-4**  
_Designation: **Kadara**_

“This ‘surprise’ had better be close, Sara.” Suvi huffed, beads of sweat dropping from her brow. She had no quarrel with exercise (she used to hike back on Earth, there was no shortage of mountains in Scotland), but she’d gone over six hundred years without proper exercise (which was her excuse, anyhow), and Kadara – while not a scorching hot planet, not even close – was still warm, but more importantly; it was humid. Extremely humid.

Sara paused, also wheezing, despite her how fit she was supposed to be; “It is. It’s worth it, I promise.” She took Suvi’s hand and swiftly continued her journey, pulling the poor scientist behind her.

The scot sighed, murmuring. “I don’t know why we couldn’t just take the nomad…” It wasn’t like there was a schedule for it – the nomad was authorised solely by the Pathfinder in any way they needed.

Ryder laughed, intense and infectious, then, with a voice littered with mirth, she says: “Dr. Anwar! Are you grumbling?”

Immediately, Suvi countered; “Muttering! There’s a difference.”

This time, they both laughed together and progressed onwards, now side by side. Ever few seconds, Suvi would steal a glance at the Pathfinder – content with the serene expression she wore on her face. Watching how her brown hair bounced in the ponytail she nonchalantly tied every morning. A small part of Suvi wanted to reach across and pull it apart; to run her fingers through the same hair she gripped when they spent nights together.

She noticed, after the somewhat racey thought had passed through her head, that she was staring now, and that Sara was staring back. Suvi quickly composed herself; they’d never reach their destination if they lingered after one another like that. She knew that look well; the same look that Sara gave her that day they drank tea together in her quarters on the Tempest. The day that Sara studied her eyes and she studied Sara’s.

They had kissed then... It had seemed so important; that the Nexus hadn’t needed a home for a few precious minutes while they… Well, it was a treasured memory; but they knew better now. Resources came first; planet-side. Once all the races of the Milky Way were settled, there was more than enough time to spend together.

“We’re here.” Sara’s voice coaxed Suvi from her thoughts, and she looked at the natural baths before her. They were stood just by the waterfront, and she tentatively touched the water with her boot.

Grinning, she returns to Sara. “The springs? You didn’t have to bring me so far if you wanted me alone.” She gently pulled her hand from Ryder’s, and placed it upon the Patherinder's back, letting it travel across to her waist – it solicited a smirk from Sara, and Suvi joined her.

“True. But with the chemical composition of water now settled; I thought we could swim – I mean, it _has_ been six hundred years.” Sara turned her body to Suvi’s now, and within a second her hands were roaming her sides and her lips were against the scientist’s neck.

“Swimming?” Suvi began, responding to Sara with no hesitation and gripping either side of her waist. The Pathfinder, as intuitive as they were designed, reacted accordingly, nibbling on Suvi and softly lifting her left hand to cup Suvi’s breast. “I haven’t brought swimwear.” The scot stated gasped between breaths; panting from the arousal that sparked between them.

Ryder grunted, half-chuckle, half-growl and lifts Suvi up, giving her a moment to wrap her legs around the Pathfinder’s waist, giggling all the while. “Who says we need ‘em.” Sara rumbled, her voice low and electric. They smiled together, eyes unmoving from one another’s for a moment before melting, once again, in their lover’s embrace.


	5. Kadara Port

**HABITAT-4** [BONUS]  
_Designation: **Kadara Port**_

 

As the door opened, Suvi was greeted by the stench of alcohol, the cacophony of a bustling tavern and the crowd of drunken outlaws that created a sea between herself and the bar – and looking to the bar, Suvi saw Ryder nursing a drink; an enchanting, voluptuous asari leaning towards her.

Even in the state she was in, however, (Suvi could tell by the way she swayed that she was far beyond tipsy) she was doing her best to push away her suitor in the kindest way possible – unfortunately, as Suvi closed in on her lover, that sounded a lot like; ‘I don’t like asari in general.’ Instead of ‘I’m not attracted to asari’, which is what Suvi could tell she meant by it.

In any case, Sara’s friendship with Peebee and Lexi was enough reason to convince Suvi, not that she needed convicing. The issue was that this particular asari didn’t know Peebee, or Lexi – or the rest of the crew, or even Ryder other than the fact that she was somewhat famous now. But eventually Suvi was able to chase away the stray, while convincing Umi, the bartender, that Ryder wasn’t racist, just drunk.

She plucked Ryder from the bar and dragged her over to the hangar bay, and they stood for a long while, waiting for Sara to sober up and watching the sunrise over Kadara Port.

“Suvi…” Sara spoke, her voice quiet and shaky, while still barely able to stand upright without banking against the rail. “We’ll settle here one day. When it’s all over, when there’s no such thing as exiles.”

Suvi found her way underneath Ryder’s arm and curled up against her. “Why here?” She asked, still gazing towards the horizon.

Sara chuckled, taking Suvi into her arms and leaning her chin on the scot’s shoulder. “It’ll look like Scotland, one day, right? The rolling hills, the mountains – cool weather, the rain!” They both laughed at that. “I only saw Scotland in holovids, though. But imagine; a dog, called Rabbit like you want – kids, maybe… Some crops, even?”

Suvi placed her hands over Sara’s and turned her face to press a kiss against her cheek. “That sounds perfect, Sara. All of it.”


	6. Voeld

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> H-047c (Habitat 5) is almost uninhabitable, and would have no need of Suvi, or Ryder once the exiles are cleared. Instead, I skipped to Habitat 6, Voeld - if you were wondering why there was a missing number.

**HABITAT-6**  
_Designation: **Voeld**_

Suvi sat, curled in the corner of the visitor’s embassy in Taerve Uni with a datapad in her gloved hands and a mug, steaming on the floor, next to her. Voeld’s atmosphere had stabilised, and the sting of the cold had mostly passed; despite this, it still did nothing to make her feel any warmer in the present, despite promise of a (somewhat) milder future.

She felt the presence of someone sink onto her, leaning against her shoulder – seemingly taking care to not spill her drink. In fact, Suvi looked up from the essay she was reading and watched as Ryder poured a stinky, viscous liquid into her tea.

“… Ryder. I don’t have enough tea left for you to ruin.” She spoke sternly, attempting to reach Sara’s gaze when she did so; but the Pathfinder seemed far more interesting in stirring whatever concoction she had put into the drink.

“Just taste it.” She smiled, lifting the mug up to Suvi’s face excitedly, coming extremely close to spilling it and scalding the both of them. Reluctantly, the scientist did; if only to calm Sara and sate her own curiosity.

It was a surprise, however, the kick the tea gave now. “It’s vodka!”

“A first attempt,” Ryder smiled. “The angara harvest these grass cereal plants on Aya , so obviously, Drack and I thought it would be a good chance to see if it would ferment the same… It’s not exactly the same, but, it’s very similar.”

Suvi nodded; “It’s very sweet – it’ll work with pretty much anything, I think.” she took another sip, savouring the taste.

“Yeah, so do I. Originally, we were gonna try making some ale; but Drack said that vodka was easier.” At this, Sara slowly took the mug from Suvi’s hands and immediately gulped a healthy portion of the liquid.

“Drack lied.” Suvi sighed, kissing her girlfriend’s cheek.

Grinning, Sara looked to her eagerly. “Maybe, but we got 4 crates of this stuff to get through before we figure out what to do differently with the next batch.”

Smirking, Suvi closed on Sara’s ear, whispering to her in the most sultry voice she could manage; “We could test it in my room… Alone.”

Ryder didn’t bother to voice a response; just swallowed the rest of the tea, took her lover’s hand, and lead onwards. Neither of them spoke much for the rest of the night – there was no need to.


	7. Tempest

**[BONUS]**   
_Designation: **Tempest**_

Suvi, slowly making her way up the ramps of the Tempest to the Meeting Room, careful not to spill the liquid in either of the two mugs she was carrying, was eventually able to hear the low murmur of voices – almost dropping the cups when Ryder began to shout.

“No! You already named the place after me; fine, whatever – but get someone else to do your dirty work, Tann. I’m not going back there… Not yet.”

The scientist could already tell that it was Ryder-1, the seventh golden world of the Initiative that they were speaking of. The first planet the humans had found in the cluster, and the planet where Alec Ryder took his last breath. Sara’s caution, and anger, was more than understandable and justifiable – despite how aggressively it came across.

Suvi waited a moment, unwilling to interrupt such a conversation, but ultimately curiosity overpowered her civility, and she continued on. On the Meeting Room deck, Ryder was stood directly in front of the holovid, hands and eyes on the surface of the table. Meanwhile, Tann was spouting some drivel about ‘adventures being part of the job’.

Clearing her throat, then, Suvi placed the mug on the table beside Ryder, who immediately waved Tann away and ended the call – must to his annoyance.

“It’s been barely a month…” She spoke, her voice quiet enough that Suvi had to take a step towards her to hear.

The scot genuinely had no response at this point. She had lost her parents, of course she had; but so had everyone in Andromeda – they’d all lost relatives and friends – but the majority of them didn’t have to watch them die, then take on their mantle and lead a hopeless cause from the anguish and darkness that she had to.

It took a moment; but Suvi decided on a course of action, and strode towards a settee, sitting down with a sigh and drinking some of the Angaran substance she’d replaced with her tea (while it really was barely similar to Earthen teas, it was sweet, served hot and was available in various flavours. She imagined, in time, it would take on more tea-like qualities for the people of the Nexus and beyond; for now, she was stuck with it.

“When I was younger, my brother and I went for a hike up a nearby mountain.” Ryder had turned to face her by this point, and she scanned her expression for any intent on her emotions. “We walked for miles, and before too long it had gotten dark. We didn’t even take a map.”

“That’s not like you.” Ryder stated coldly, stalking to where Suvi was sat and taking a seat beside her, on the other side of the settee.

Suvi only chuckled as a response, nodding – but spun to watch Ryder anyway. “My da was the one that found us. He screamed at us for hours after that, for worrying him.” Ryder’s expression softened, and she looked over to her girlfriend. “I never actually realised how hurt he felt, until I met you.”

“Suvi…”

“No, let me finish, please.” She shuffled towards Sara and leaned against her, her head on the Pathfinder’s shoulder. “I feel that; every time you’re out in the field. But the discoveries you make, what you achieve – it’s worth it all.”

“I won’t go back if I can help it.” Ryder murmured, sobbing slightly.

“You don’t have to. There’s more than one Pathfinder for a reason.” She lifted her head to take another sip from her mug. “Tann can shove those orders up his arse for all I care.” She laughed.

“Suvi!” Within moments they were giggling together, smiling once again – up until they heard a voice; Kallo, announcing their arrival at the Nexus.

“Back to work, I guess.” Ryder spoke, obviously upset. Not that she showed it; it was only due to the amount of time they spent together that Suvi was able to pick up on it at all. She placed her free hand over Sara’s.

“I can go with you, if you like.” She tried her best to be soothing; she probably sounded like she was talking to a child, but, none of that mattered to her. All she cared about at this point was Sara’s well-being. She’d been through more in the span of a month than some Asari ever did in their lifetimes.

“Nah, I’ll be alright. If anything I have the other Pathfinders, like you said.” They smiled to each other, a chaste kiss passing between them.

“I’ll be on the bridge; if you need me.”


	8. Nexus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry; it's been a while - my shifts got boosted like hell at work.

**[BONUS]**  
 **Designation:** _Nexus_

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you – you weren’t in the lab…” Ryder began, but her voice slowly trailed away when Suvi (who hadn’t immediately looked to her when she spoke – something she would normally do) finally turned her head; the tears in her eyes obvious even from the distance Ryder was standing from.

With no hesitation, Sara crossed the space between them and took Suvi in her arms – the scot responding by melting in her embrace, silently hiccupping against her shoulder as they waited for her sobs to subside.

After a few moments of shushing, hair stroking and head kisses; Suvi was able to console herself and they parted from each other, with Sara drilling holes into Suvi’s eyes. It took a few more wordless moments, but eventually, Suvi passed over the article she had been holding and let her eyes roam around the gardens while her girlfriend inspected the item.

“I know it’s not the same… But you have me and Scott now, and the rest of the Tempest.” The Pathfinder spoke quietly, her voice a low rumble.

Suvi took the picture back from Sara when it was offered to her, and turned it over in her hands – it was one of her family, the rare days when they were all together. This particular one was taken a week or so before her departure with the Initiative; one that hit rather close to home.

The scientist smiled, reaching up to place a hand against Sara’s cheek. “This time… I have no intention of leaving.”


End file.
